Cricket 1895

452 C R IC K E T : A W E E K L Y RECORD OF THE GAME. Nov. 28, 1895. num ber o f local clubs. T hirty-n ine centim es were scored last season, whilst “ B ow ling Feats ” account fo r six pages. A v e iy readable production, on w hich the editor, “ T rundler,” is to be con­ gratulated. P oor Freeman's death has given us all a the <lf. brcause w e were unprepared for it. 1 w ould certainly have seen him aeain bad I l a d the faintest intim ation o f his illness. The evening I spent at his hom e last year w ill ever remain a sunny m em ory. H e had been ill then, and m oreover the loss o f his little gii 1 had quite unnerved the strong m an. W .G . M id D aft have said the last w ord on his bow lin g. A s I recall him in his early cricket days, thirty years since, there was no handsomer presence in E nglish cricket. C. F. Buller and he were, in m y eyes, the perfection o f physical manhood. A s Emme tt remarked to me a couple of t ears ago :— “ I used to say to Freeman, ‘ G eoige, what a toff you are ; it’ s w orth sixpence to see y ou run up to the w icket and deliver the b a ll.’ ” I t is pleasant to know that he was w hat he looked, as upright in character as in form , cv eiy irch o f him a man, all o f a piece. This w ill very largely account fo r his remarkable business success. A s a neighbour o f his said to m e : “ E veryb ody trusts him im p licitly ; there isn’ t a. crease anywhere in him . Y o u know that the instant he has sold any cattle fo r you, you can g o and draw a cheque in full, Freem an running the ri-k o f gettin g paid b y the purchaser.” In li-i ow n g ood-h um ored w ay he told m e a story o f a famous am ateur who oi e~! effered to play in a match Freeman had airanged, fo r his “ bare expenses.” Paid expenses am ounted to £ 7 10s.; w) ilst. the professionals’ fee was £5. “ But what did it m atter? It w ould have paid me w ell if his e x .’s had been three lim es that sun'. A t the same time 1 heartily endorse what y ou have written 1roni time to time on that m atter.” L et m e now get on to other lines. As m ost cricketers know , the earliest first- class score is the K ent v. A ll E ngland match in 1746. Then there is a 'g a p of 26 years, N ottingham v. Sheffield com ing next, in 1771. A ll through that disastrous fire in the M .C .C . pavilion in 1825. I s.m livin g in hope that there w ill be a splendid “ fin d ” some day in some of i lie strong room s to be found in certain count? y mansions in one or other o f the hom e counties. M eanwhile are there n o old newspapers which condescended to report in fa ll the m ore im portant lijat dies a couple o f hundred years ago ? 1 fear not. The new spaper then was a v e iy m odest production— a w eekly for the most part— folio in size, and w ith but fou r sides o f printed matter. I lighted u p n a goodly p ile some years back, recording the principal hom e aud foreign new s betw een the years 1729 and 1743— the latter date prece lin g b y three years the afore- m entioE ed K ent match. These j >urnals were all published in L ondon, and are called, The London Evening Post, The Grub Street Journal, and The West- iniiis'tr . lournal . T o m y delight m in y o f thtrn contain lefereLces to matches, either past or to come, w hich m ay be of interest to present-day students o f the gam e. I w ill give some o f them n ow in order, w ith dates, repressing, for econom y sake, the names o f the newspapers :— A u gu st 7, 1729. On Tuesday was played a great cricket m atch at K ennington C omm on, betw een the Londoners and D artford men, for a considerable sum of m oney, w ager and b e tts; and the latter beat the form er very much. Septem ber 11, 1731. Y esterday a great cricket m atch was played on M oulsey H urst, near H am p ton C ourt, be­ tw een the K ingston men and the C ounty of Surrey, for 25 guineas a side, w hich were w on b y the latter. Some thousands o f persons o f both sexes were present on this occasion. (N .B .— This ough t to be o f absorbing interest to Surreyites of 1895. I did not know that Surrey could boast o f a county club 164 years a g o ; nor perhaps did m y honoured friend, their present secretary. The gam bling element startles u s ; or was the m oney on ly a puff p Observe that the match is not said to be w on, but the guineas. The presence o f ladies in those far-aw ay days is very refreshing.) J u ly 10, 1735. A great m atch at cricket has been made betw een H is R oyal H ighness the P rince and the E arl of M iddlesex, fo r £1,000. E ig h t o f the L on d on C lub and three out of M iddlesex are to play fo r the Prince, against eleven to be chosen b y the E arl out o f K e n t; they are to play tw ice, viz., at M oulsey H urst next Saturday, and afterwards at D art­ ford in K ent. J u ly 31, 1735. Last W ednesday a great cricket m atch was played on M olesey H urst betw een nine Surrey m en and nine M iddlesex men fo r £ l0 , which was w on b y the form er.— Between the gentlem en o f Chelsea and the gentlemen o f Clapham on Chelsea Comm on, for 50 guineas, which was w on b y the form er. M r. R ow , one o f the gamesters, broke his arm b y a fa ll.— Y esterday the great cricket m atch betw een eleven gentlem en of L am beth and eleven o f the B orough, on K ennington Comm on, for a con­ siderable sum o f m o n e y ; w hich was w on b y the form er with great ease. A ugust 23, 1735. Last week was played at Sevenoak, in K ent, a great cricket m atch betw een the E arl o f M iddle­ sex, the L ord John Sackville, and nine other gentlem en o f the county o f K ent, and Sir W illiam G age and ten other gentlem en o f the coun ty of Sussex, when the Kentish gentlemen b e a t ; bu t tho week before, when they played on the D ow ns near L ew es, the Sussex gentlem en beat considerably, so that it’s though t the conqueror w ill be played in a few days. (N .B .— So far Surrey, M iddlesex, K ent an<i Sussex have all com e under review. B ut where is Hampshire all this tim e ? W as there no cricket in that county ? M ost likely there was, bu t these were pre-railivny, pre-telegraph days. There was in consequence n j report o f what happened outside the life that revolved about L on d on .) Ju ly 22, 1736. N ext Thursday a great match at cricket w ill be p lay ’d in the A rtillery G round, near M oor- fields, betw een the Gentlem en of L on d on and those of Chertsey, in Surrey, w h o p lay ’d the hard m atch on the 19 th instant on Lay lam B orough, near Chertsey, when very large betts were laid, and the odds turn’d on each side three and tw o to one, bu t concluded in favour o f the Londoners b y a very few notches. The Chertsey gentlem en are likewise those w ho had so m uch the advan­ tage o f the C roydon men the begin ­ nin g o f this m onth on R ichm ond Green. There w ill be a line rounei the ground as usual, and the wickets w ill be p itch ’d b y one o ’clock. September 2, 1736. Y esterday the great m atch at Single W icket was p lay’ d betw een the three C ountrym en and the three L ondoners, the latter w ent in first and g o t bu t five, and then the Countrym en w ent in, and g o t 17. The second inning the L ondoners made up the five 23, and the Country g o t bu t six the second H ands, which made it a T ye, so it’ s th ou gh t it w ill be play’d over again. (N .B .— Interesting for several reasons. 1. The first single w icket m atch. 2. The first mention o f totals, th ou gh not of detail scores. 3. The w ords “ in n in g ” and “ h a n d s” occur, the form er w ord bein g still spelt in the singular across the A tlantic. W hen did w e first speak of one innings ? A nd is it correct to d o so ?) September 21,1736. Y esterday the great Cricket match was p la y ’d on K en - n in gton C omm on, betw een the G en­ tlemen o f K ent and S u rrey; the Gamesters were adm irably g ood , and to a man perform ’d their part. The K entish m en w ent in first and g ot 41 n otches; the Surrey men, 71. A t the second hands the K entish men g o t 51, and the Surrey men had but 23 to get, w hich they acquir’d w ith ease and had tw o wickets to spare. A great deal o f m oney was w on and lost upon the occasion, bu t the gam e was so skilfully and ju stly p lay’d on each side that the very losers went away satisfy’d. D u rin g the gam e three soldiers apprehended a Kentish player fo r desertion, bu t the populace hearing o f the matter join ed and rescued the deserter out o f their hands, and after a severe discipline let them g o about their business. (H ow is that fo r cricket enthusiasm ! Cricket before patriotism .) J u ly 16, 1743. On M onday a Cricket m atch was played in the A rtillery Ground fo r 500 Guineas, between N ewland, o f Slendon in Sussex, Sawyer o f R ichm ond, and B ryant of L ondon, against H odsw ell o f D art­ ford, R om ley o f Sevenoaks, and C ut- bush of M aid ston e; which was w on b y the three last b y tw o wickets. ‘Twas com puted there w ere 10,000 people on the Ground, and the bets ran five to fou r in favour o f the winners.